How to Earn Extra Cash on Pinterest

Money Tip of the Week: Making $$$ on Pinterest

Welcome back, fellow parent.

We all know Pinterest is the place to go for recipes, home organization hacks, and DIY projects.

But did you know it can also be a serious income stream?

Turns out, Pinterest isn’t just about collecting ideas—it’s also a platform where everyday parents are earning anywhere from $500 to $2,000 (and even more) each month.

Don’t believe me? Scroll to the Side Hustle Spotlight for today for a business for sale where the owner spends 1 hour per day and is bringing home $8k each month on average.

How Are Parents Making Money on Pinterest?

I’ve done a ton of research on how to leverage Pinterest to make extra cash, and recently started posting as well so we’ll see how it goes.

Here are three ways I’ve seen parents make money on Pinterest:

• Affiliate Marketing: This is one of the easiest ways to start. You create pins featuring products you love and earn a commission every time someone clicks or buys through your affiliate links. Whether it’s family-friendly products, kitchen gadgets, or even kids’ clothes, affiliate marketing is a great way to turn your Pinterest audience into a money-maker.

• Selling Digital Products: Ever thought about creating your own digital products? Things like printables (meal planners, chore charts, budgeting worksheets) are incredibly popular on Pinterest and super easy to sell. With tools like Canva, you can design these products in no time and start selling them to other parents who need a bit of extra help organizing their busy lives.

• Driving Traffic to Your Blog or Shop: Already have a blog or an online store? Pinterest can be a huge traffic driver. And we all know traffic equals potential income (more sales, ads, etc.). Whether you’re selling physical products, offering services, or monetizing your blog through ads and sponsorships, Pinterest can help you grow your audience—and your earnings.

Unlike other platforms, you don’t need a huge social following or need to spend a million hours growing an audience to monetize. Whether you have 5 hours a week or 15, Pinterest can work for you.

The key is consistency and knowing where to focus your efforts. Start off dedicating a few hours a week and slowly scale up as they see results.

I use Canva for Pinterest content creation and scheduling. It’s super affordable and easy to use.

There are a bunch of additional ways to monetize on Pinterest. I cover 7 more in this article if you want to learn more.

Three Tips to Succeed on Pinterest

With a low barrier to entry, there’s going to be a ton of competition on Pinterest. But it’s 2024, every social media platform is crowded.

So you may be thinking, how do you actually get people to notice your pins? 

Here are a few simple strategies to boost your visibility:

• Create Click-Worthy Pins: The visual side of Pinterest is key. You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create beautiful pins—just use simple tools like Canva. Focus on clean, bold fonts, bright images, and clear calls to action to draw people in.

• Master Pinterest SEO: Pinterest works like a search engine. That means adding keywords to your pin descriptions, titles, and boards can help more people find your content. The better optimized your pins, the more likely they are to get seen and shared.

• Join Group Boards To Expand Reach: Pinterest group boards are collaborative spaces where multiple users pin content on shared topics, making them a great way to get your pins in front of a larger audience. To join a group board, search for boards in your niche and check the description for instructions—usually, it involves messaging the board owner or following their specific guidelines. By contributing to active group boards, you can dramatically increase your visibility, engagement, and potential earnings, as your pins reach not just your followers but thousands more. Just be sure to regularly pin relevant, high-quality content and engage with others to maximize your results.

The best part about Pinterest is how flexible it is.

You can work on it when the kids are napping, in the evenings, or even during your lunch break. It’s one of those side hustles that can fit seamlessly into your day without feeling like another full-time job.

Click below if you want to read my deep dive on how to make money on Pinterest this year.

P.S. I’m not offering Marketing Consulting services for parent-led businesses. Drop me a note if you are looking for growth assistance.

Side Hustle Spotlight: Pin for Brands

I’ve been chatting with the owner of this Health & Beauty Pinterest account and it’s a very interesting business model.

The tl;dr is the owner partners with brands to increase their brand awareness. Over the past few years, the account generates millions of impressions each month and on average, brings in $8k per month. 🤯

You’ll need to sign an NDA of course (it’s free) to get the details, but the owner is very knowledgeable and happy to answer questions. It’s a fun topic to post about and isn’t overly complicated.

Even though I ultimately decided it wasn’t the best fit for me at the moment, I’d recommend checking it out.

P.S. I’m currently on the market to acquire a business and will share interesting opportunities as I find them. I receive zero compensation from the platform or seller.

Interesting Things to Read

A few fellow parents reached out to me recently for additional growth resources.

Click below for a list of what I’m reading this week. I’ll keep this list updated and it’ll range from investing to careers, artificial intelligence, and raising kids.

All of the above reading recommendations put out high-quality content for free.

Make sure to confirm your subscription and if you have any recommended readings, please send them my way.

Thanks for reading, and please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

I love writing content knowing it’s helping at least one family out there.

See you next week,

The Dollar Dad